Republicans have won the district continuously since 1969. Republican Patrick McHenry has represented the district since 2005. Jeff Gregory (D) was defeated in the 2010 election to represent this district. The 10th district was part of the controversial statewide redistricting by the Republican-led state legislature in 2011.[2] The district's northwest border was redrawn to include most of heavily Democratic Asheville, long the heart of the 11th District. At the same time, some heavily Republican areas in the 10th were shifted to the 11th. While this made the 10th approximately seven points more Democratic, it was not nearly enough to overcome the heavy Republican tilt in the western Charlotte suburbs.